Apparatus for needling textiles

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to apparatus for performing so-called &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;needling&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; operations on textile goods, which apparatus is characterized by the fact that it comprises a needle support member having a multiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes of which are oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member, and an associated backing member to support the textile material against the forces experienced during the needling operation, which backing member has a surface comprising pressure-tolerant, laterally displaceable, elongated members which are affixed at one end to the surface of the backing member and have their long axes oriented substantially normal to the surface of said backing member; said needle support member and said backing member each being so structured as to travel repeatedly along a closed travel path each aggregating 360* of angular change and being so positioned with respect to each other that at least at one point along their paths of travel, portions of said needles reside among said elongated members.

United States Patent [191 Fekete et al.

[451 June 24, 1975 1 APPARATUS FOR NEEDLING TEXTILES [75] inventors:Eugene Zoltan Fekete, East Greenbush; Raymond J. Grady, Colonie, both ofNY.

[73] Assignee: Huyck Corporation, Wake Forest,

[22] Filed: July 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 487,668

[52] US. Cl. 28/4 R; 28/72.2 R [51] Int. Cl D04h 18/00 [58] Field ofSearch 28/4 R, 72.2 R

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,142,728 l/1939 Kienzle28/4 R 2,920,373 l/l960 Gresham 28/4 R 2,974,393 3/1961 Hollowell 28/4 R3,208,125 9/1965 Hall et al. 28/4 R 3,372,447 3/1968 Williams ct a1.28/4 R Primary Examiner-Louis K. Rimrodt Attorney, Agent, or Firm-RobertF. Hargest; Sanford S. Wadler [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention relates toapparatus for performing socalled needling operations on textile goods,which apparatus is characterized by the fact that it comprises a needlesupport member having a multiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto,the long axes of which are oriented substantially normal to the surfaceof said member, and an associated backing member to support the textilematerial against the forces experienced during the needling operation,which backing member has a surface comprising pressure-tolerant,laterally displaceable, elongated members which are affixed at one endto the surface of the backing member and have their long axes orientedsubstantially normal to the surface of said backing member; said needlesupport member and said backing member each being so structured as totravel repeatedly along a closed travel path each aggregating 360 ofangular change and being so positioned with respect to each other thatat least at one point along their paths of travel, portions of saidneedles reside among said elongated members.

14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR NEEDLING TEXTILES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION It is well known in the textile arts that it ispossible to make a textile product by subjecting a batt of fibers to therepeated plunging action of a multiplicity of socalled felting needles,by which, in this context, is meant known per se, long, thin, rod-likestructures, usually round or angular in cross-section, having one ormore barbs in them, the preponderance of which face toward the pointedend. In this connection, reference is made to the following U.S.Patents: Foster, U.S. Pat. No. 2,322,573; Kopriva et a1, U.S. Pat. No.2,326,038; Foster, U.S. Pat. No. 2,327,416; Foster U.S. Pat. No.2,349,086; Foster, U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,560; Brown, U.S. Pat. No.2,678,484; Lauterbach, U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,650; Weickert, U.S. Pat. No.2,882,585; Lauterbach, U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,113; Foster, U.S. Pat. No.3,224,067; Zocher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,097; Foster U.S. Pat. No.3,479,708; Zocher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,663; Foster, U.S. Pat. No.3,727,276; and McKew et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,599. The batt of fibersmay be supported on a backing scrim, which typically may be anopen-weave mesh fabric made in the traditional manner of textilemanufacturing. Such a combination, with the fiber batt facing the needleboard of the needling machine, is passed beneath the needle board, towhich are affixed a multiplicity of needles. In the most widely usedtypes of such machines, the needle board reciprocates upward anddownward by means of driven connecting rods, thereby producing theplunging action which, because of the barbed configuration of theneedles, causes interlocking entanglement of the fibers with each otherand with the backing scrim, thereby giving the textile productstructural and mechanical integrity and an acceptable degree of fiberretention. In this connection, reference is made to the following UnitedStates Patents which disclose such machines: Stone, U.S. Pat. No.2,177,604; Walsh, et al., U.S. Pat. No. Re. 21,890; Marshall, U.S. Pat.No. 2,959,509; Chase, U.S. Pat. No. 1,742,133; and Chase U.S. Pat. No.1,745,739.

Textile products made in accordance with these needling techniques havebeen found particularly useful in the field of papermakers felts wherelarge numbers of fibers must be incorporated into the felt in order toprovide the degree of loft, resiliency, and structural integrity that isrequired to render them useful in the environment of the papermakingmachine. However, the production of needled textile products made by thepreviously known techniques has been relatively slow and, in addition,the mechanical problems involved in the construction and operation ofthe associated machinery have been substantial, primarily because of thereciprocal motion and the great weight and inertia attendant to makingthe apparatus sufficiently strong and rigid to withstand the high forcesexperienced in the needling operation.

The basis for the premise that reciprocating motion is necessary is thatthe needles themselves necessarily are very thin, although they mustpossess sufficient mechanical strength to tolerate the stresses andstrains to which they are exposed by virtue of the existence of thebarbs and the pressures imparted to the needle shaft during impingementof the needle point and barbs on the fibers and other portions of thetextile product being made. In view of this, and the fact that as thetextile product is produced it becomes progressively more dense, untilthe advent of the present invention we believed that it was necessary tocause the needles to enter and be removed from the textile fabricsubstantially along a linear path; that is, one not involving anysignificant amount of laterial pressure on the needles, or of angulardisplacement and flexing of them, between the time the needle pointbegins to enter the fab ric and the time that it leaves the fabric,since the effect would be to cause the constituent material of theneedles to fatique through work hardening resulting from such flexing,and ultimately break. Flexing and the angular displacement of theneedles would additionally produce undesired tearing and hole-enlargingeffects on the associated fabric.

This problem is intensified by the fact that, as noted above, the thrustpressures that must be exerted by the needle in order to provide thedesired effects of the needling operation are substantially initiallyand become progressively greater as the textile product densifies, andthis makes it necessary for the textile product to be backed againstdisplacement to ensure that the needles will penetrate the textileproduct to a predetermined depth. Traditionally, this was achieved bymeans of a backing plate; that is, a sheet of material, such as heavygauge steel, having perforations therein corresponding to the position,size, and distribution pattern of the needles on the needle board,whereby the barbs of the needles could be caused to plunge completelythrough the textile product being fabricated and through the holes inthe backing plate. The very nature of such a backing plate meant thatthe needles must enter it in exactly the same places and configurationeach time in order to avoid needle breakage from impingement on theunperforated portions of the backing plate, and it also meant that thepotential needle density was limited inherently because of the necessityof preserving sufficient land area between the perforations in thebacking plate to give the plate enough strength to withstand the forcesof needling.

Some attempt has been made to replace such backing plates with otherstructures, such as belts having kneeaction plastic filaments projectingtherefrom; (in this connection, reference is made to Hollowell, U.S.Pat. No. 2,974,393), but in the textile art, such structures have not todate found wide-spread application primarily because, as the Hollowellreference illustrates, such filament belts were associated withreciprocating needle boards and were merely substitutions for thebacking plate. Although they may have permitted greater needle densitiesthan could be achieved with a backing plate, they are inherently suitedonly to the needling of relatively thin fiber batts because of thelimited ability of the knee-action filaments to support the fabricagainst high needling pressures, and they still are substantiallyrestricted to the low production speeds of traditional needle loomsbecause of having reciprocating needle boards, presumably because of allthe problems of subjecting the needles to lateral pressures and flexingstill being present.

There have been attempts made to process sheet-like goods through thenip formed by associated roll devices wherein protrusions from at leastone of the rolls perform work on the material being processed. in thisconnection, reference is made to the following patents: Harmon et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,290; Harrigan, U.S. Pat. No. 232,962; Gresham U.S.Pat. No. 2,920,373;

Krolik, Jr., US. Pat. No. 3,137,611; Harwood, US. Pat. No. 3,038,215;Mueller US Pat. No. 2,847,086; Oace, US. Pat. No. 3,014,263; and BritishPatent Specification No. 20,645. There have also been similar machineswhich utilize belt-like structures other than opposing rolls, forsubstantially the same purposes; (in this connection reference is madeto US. Pat. Nos. 3,025,585, Griswold; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,433,Russell). However, none of the aforesaid known refer ences of eithertype were dealing with needles of the type contemplated by the presentinvention. Rather, these references deal with devices which were for thepurpose of punching perforations in sheet-like material, or embossingit, or performing other such tasks, with penetrating structures thatwere not long and thin and therefore did not have the kind of mechanicalstress problems which are inherent to the needles used in needling as itis known in the textile arts.

Occasionally, attempts have been made to modify textile processmachinery to render it more simple structurally and faster than theknown per se reciprocating needle looms. Such attempts are illustratedby Kalwaites, US. Pat. No. 3,081,501 and Hollowell, US. Pat. No.2,974,393; but these references also still resort to reciprocatingneedle board motion as the means for propelling needles into the textilematerial. Other prior art devices which are more nearly like rolldevices so made for the purpose of speeding up the needling process haveeither not been concerned with the long, thin, and relatively delicateneedles contemplated by the present invention, or have tolerated thegeneration of objectionable relatively wide apertures in materials thatare not of a dense nature (in this connection, reference is made toKalwaites, US. Pat. Nos. 3,325,868 and 3,255,496).

It is believed that needling machines having opposing rolls, one withthe needles mounted thereon and the other with a backing surface such asthe perforated plate similar to the type previously used as backingplates in reciprocating needle looms, have not been found to besatisfactory because of the practical mechanical problems which would beencountered in such devices. First, there would be the very difficultproblem of perfect registration", or causing each needle to align with ahole exactly in every pass; otherwise, needle breakage would beexperienced. Next, if one visualizes the necessity for the needle shaftsto pivot angularly about a fictitious point approximately halfway alongthe axis of each hole as each needle first intercepts, then penetrates,and lastly withdraws from its associated hole as the two pass througharcuate paths through the nip region of the rolls, it will beappreciated that the holes will have to be increasingly larger as theroll diameters decrease, as the depth of needle penetration increases,and as the thickness of the backing plate increases, and thisenlargement reduces the possibility for effective backing and thereforeincreased needle density.

One reference (British Patent Specification No. 450,775) discloses anapparatus which is an attempt to increase the speed of needling by useofa series of needle boards traveling on an endless belt and opposed byan inclined plane backing plate. The drawbacks of this structure interms of the lateral stress moments which it places on the needles areapparent from an examination of the apparatus as disclosed since, ofcourse, the entry-withdrawal sequence of the needles effected by thecooperation between the inclined plane bed plate and the endless belt ofneedles is clearly of such a nature as to cause the relative motion ofthe needles, due to the raising of the textile product being needled upthe incline of the backing plate to the crown and then down it, to be asif the needles were being pivoted through an are about a fictitiouspoint which moves along their respective shafts. This, apparently, makessuch a machine impractical in the long run, as evidenced by the factthat the apparatus has not found wide-spread use in the industry.Furthermore, because of the ribbed configuration of the backing platesubstitute which apparently is necessitated by the substantially linearprogress of the needles in this arrangement, it is not possible to havea very high needle density which, of course, would help improve theefficiency of needling.

Recognizing the drawbacks of all of the foregoing structures andvisualizing the advantages which would result if it were possible toproduce a pure roller-type structure, various persons skilled in the arthave made attempts from time to time to produce structures that would atonce perform needling of the high quality level desired, while, at thesame time, simplifying the machinery, speeding up the process time, andavoiding the deleterious effects on the needles themselves. In thisconnection, reference is made to Hall et al., US. Pat. No. 3,208,125;and Williams et al., US. Pat. No. 3,372,447. It will be noticed that allof these references, however, require the use of internal cammingstructures which either cause the associated needles to plunge in andout of the roll face, or cause them to be made to cant mechanically, soas to avoid the angular displacement problems noted above, as well asthe lateral bending moments imparted by the angular displacement thattakes place as the needles first enter and then are withdrawn from thetextile material being processed through the course of the materialpassing through an arc of some dimension. Clearly, such devices are veryintricate and expensive, and are subject to extreme and rapid wear, andso are not suited to use on high-speed textile processing machinery.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved apparatus and method for needling textile materials with agreater number of penetrations per unit time occuring withoutintolerable adverse effects on the needles or the quality of the textileproducts so produced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects of this invention may be achievedthrough any of its embodiments in which there is utilized an apparatusfor needling textile goods comprising a needle support member having amultiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes of whichare oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member, and anassociated backing member to support the textile material against theforces experienced during the needling operation, which backing memberhas a surface comprising pressure-tolerant, laterally displaceable,elongated members which are affixed at one end to the surface of thebacking member and have their long axes oriented substantially normal tothe surface of said backing member; said needle support member and saidbacking member each being so structured as to travel repeatedly througha closed path of travel, and being so positioned with respect to eachother that at least at one point along their paths of travel saidneedles reside among said elongated members.

DESCRIPTION or DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of one embodimentof the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional drawing of backing material useful in thepractice of a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graphic representation of the embodiment of the presentinvention depicted in FIG. 2 in use, and

FIG. 3a is a graphic representation of prior art apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, there isillustrated a textile needling machine embodying the present invention,comprising a needle support member 12 and an associ ated backing member14. In this particular embodiment, members 12 and 14 are depicted asrolls. There is also illustrated a carrier roll 16 the purposes of whichare hereinafter described, although it will be clear that the use'ofsuch a carrier roll with the present invention is-optional. The needleroll 12 comprises a roll body 18 of typical, known per se, cylindricalform, to the surface of which is affixed, by known techniques, such asgluing with adhesives, or mechanical affixation, or welding, brazing, orthe like, a multiplicity of needles 20 of any of a wide variety ofconstructions and designs which are known per se in the textile needlingart. The associated backing roll 14 comprises a roll body 22, to thesurface of which is affixed a multiplicity of elongated members 32 whichhave one of their ends affixed to the backing roll body 22 and which arecharacterized by being able substantially to retain their shape andorientation under the forces delivered to them in their axial direction(which characteristic is referred to herein as pressure-tolerant), andyet are laterally displaceable; that is susceptible to being moved fromside to side around their fixed ends acting as pivots. So called cardwire, well known in the textile arts, is suitable for this use andpossesses the foregoing structural features. It comprises a card wirestructure 29 of the type illustrated in FIG. 2 comprising a sheet-likemember 30 made from textile goods, rubber, heavy plastic material, andthe like, from one surface of which project a multiplicity of cut wiremembers 32 made from material such as bronze, steel, plastics, syntheticmaterials, or the like, typically of a diameter of about 0.08 cm, and inlength about 2.5 cm, the outermost ends of which occupy a planesubstantially parallel to the surface of the supporting back member 30.The elongated members 32 of such a structure are free to bend or pivotabout points 34; that is, the point at which each emerges from the upperplane of the backing member 30, so that as portions of a needle 20penetrate among the members 32, such portions may move relative to theelongated members 32, and the elongated members are free to deflectsidewards to give such penetrating portions of the needle freedom to sopass unobstructed. At the same time, the cut wire members 32 aresufficiently rigid to support the pressures imparted by such things as afabric being processed without substantially losing their shape ororientation, not only against the normal tensions and operationsl forcesherein contemplated, but also against the forces applied as the fabricmoves through the point of closure between the needle roll 12 and thebacking roll 14 wherein the needles 20 on the needle roll 12 are causedto be plunged through and extracted from the fabric being processed. Inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention, that portion ofthe needle which is in contact with the felt, the backing material, andthe felt travel at the same linear velocity, measured along what hasbeen designated in FIG. 3 as the X axis, at least at the point where theneedle roll and backing material are closest.

The foregoing is further illustrated in FIG. 3 where there is shown agraphic illustration of a single needle so positioned relative to thefelt 33 and an associated card wire structure 29, the needle and cardwire structure moving from left to right such that at a given posi tionA, the needle 20 begins to enter felt being needle. Position C is theposition at which the portion of the needle 20 embedded in felt 33, thebacking material 29 and the felt 33 will be traveling at the same linearvelocity along the X axis. The needling sequence continues to position Ewhere the needle 20 is withdrawn completely from the felt 33. Throughoutthe needling sequence the cut wire members 32 substantially retain theirshape and orientation under the axially oriented or vertical forcesimparted during the needling process. In addition, elongated members 32are susceptible to being moved from side to side around their fixed ends34 acting as pivots. For example, at position A, the needle tip 35 hasbegun to penetrate the region occupied by the felt 33. As thecombination continues to move from left to right as shown in FIG. 3,penetration of the needle 20 through the felt 33 is substantiallycomplete by the time the combination has reached position B at whichposition the elongated wire member 32 may be caused to bend as a resultof the impingement upon wire member 32 by needle 20. The force impartedupon the needle by the felt will cause the needle 20 to deflect. Atposition B the angular displacement of the needle 20 relative to theplane of the felt 33 is in a direction opposite that of the direction ofmovement of felt 33. The magnitude of the deflecting force on the needle20 is a function of roll diameter and depth of needle penetration. Forexample, the force and therefore needle deflection can be reduced byincreasing the diameter of the needle roll or the associated backingroll or both rolls. As the sequence continues the end of the needle 20which extends through felt 33 may impinge upon the bend other elongatedwire members 32 and will begin to straighten out such that at position Cit will return to its normal orientation. Similarly, the previouslydeflected wire members 32 will spring back to their normal orientation.As the needling sequence continues past position C to position D, theneedle 20 begins to withdraw from the felt 33, the bending or an gulardisplacement of the needle 20 relative to the plane of the felt 33 nowbeing in the same direction as that in which felt 33 is moving. Inaddition, the end of needle 20 which extends through felt 33 may impingeupon and bend other elongated wire members 32 and will again begin tostraighten out such that at position E it will have sprung back to itsnormal orientation. Similarly, the previously deflected wire members 32will spring back to their normal orientation.

At this point, it should be noted that in order to overcome the problemsreferred to above attendant to using a perforated-type prior art backingplate, the elongated members 32 of the card wire underlying the felt 33must be free to move laterally to accommodate the sweep of the needletip region. The significance of this is illustrated in FIG. 3a where itmay be seen that if a perforated backing plate where used as in priorart devices, it would be necessary to have the angular displacement ofthe needles take place about a pivot point 43 that is substantially inthe mid-plane 45 of the backing plate 47, since otherwise, theperforated portion 48 of the backing plate 47 would have to besubstantially larger, with a consequent reduction in the ability of thebacking plate to withstand the pressure forces imparted during theneedling sequence. Not only does this cause an undesired decrease in theeffectiveness of the backing member, but also it will be clear that ittends to increase the lateral force moments impartd to the needle andthat it further tends to increase the size of the needle holesintroduced in the felt 33. Furthermore, it will be noted that in theprior arrangement depicted in FIG. 3A, of necessity, the dimensions ofthe flared opening 50 imparted by the angular displacement of the needlein the felt are significantly greater in terms of volumne displacementthan are those in the case of the present invention wherein there is noproblem regarding registration of needle tips and apertures in a backingplate. In effect, it may be said that the backing member 29 of thepresent invention provides a system of holes which, unlike those in abacking plate, move to accommodate the angular sweep of the needle tips.I It will be obvious that although not necessary the card wire membercan be made to pass through an arcuate path to address the on-comingneedles as, for example, by being placed around the circumference of aroll. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein the elongatedmembers 32 are affixed to a backing roll 14, the needle roll 12 andbacking roll 14 are so positioned with respect to each other that atleast a portion of the needles 20 on the needle roll 12 occupy thegeneral region also occupied by the elongated members 32 on the surfaceof the backing roll 14. To permit variations in needling depth, one orboth of the roll axes are movable so that the rolls may be positionedcloser together or farther apart. Obviously, positioning the rollscloser together will also have the effect of increasing the needlingzone, or distance over which needles are inserted into the fabric at anygiven point in time. Thus, for example, fibers 44 are laid onto theouter surface of a papermakers felt 42 which has been rendered into theform of an endless belt, by a fiber-laying device 46 of any of amultitude of well-known designs such as a carder, batt former, layercombination, or a blown fiber source, and is positioned about thebacking roll 14 and, in the case illustrated in FIG. 1, about a carrierroll 16. The backing or the carrier roll, or the needle roll, or even anassociated slack takeup roll, or any combination of them, may be drivento cause the rolls to revolve and, therefore, the fabric 42 to move. Asillustrated, the fabric 42 will be carried through the nip formedbetween the backing roll 14 and the needle roll 12 such that the needles20 on the needle roll 12 will be caused to progressively plunge into andthrough and be extracted from the papermarkers felt 42. In this manner,it is possible to subject the felt to a substantial number of needlingpasses in a very short length of time, because experiments havedemonstrated that the felt may be run through the needling nip at speedsin excess of about 300 meters per minute.

Furthermore, because the diameters of the elongated members 32 of thecard wire structure 29 are small, and since, in terms of needlingpractice, these diameters are analogous to the land areas between theperforated holes on the backing plate of a standard reciprocating needlemachine, it is possible to have a much more dense concentration ofneedles on the surface of the needle roll than can be achieved on astandard needle board. For example, the practical maximum density ofneedles on a needle board as used in the industry is about 8,303/sg.meter, whereas experimental machines embodying the present inventionhave been used having a needle density of 13,830/sq. meter and it isthought that this density might even be increased. Thus, through thepractice of the present invention, it is possible to perform ahigh-speed needling operation from which the quality of needling and theproduct produced thereby is very high and is clearly acceptable to meetthe standards of such difficult and demanding products as papermakersfelts.

It will be apparent that even though various backing roll needle rolldiameter combinations may be operative in the practice of the presentinvention, it is desirable although not required for both rolls to havelarge diameters; e.g., on the order of cm or more, since, obviously, thegreater the diameter of one or both of these rolls, the less relativemovement there is between a given needle point residing in the region ofthe card wire members 32, and this further reduces the working of theneedles through the elimination of lateral moments of force even throughit should be understood that the degree of working is smaller diametersis within acceptable limits since there will not be an untoward amountof needle fatigue, bending, or breaking. Accordingly, backing rollneedle roll combinations having smaller diameters may also be used. Forexample, backing roll needle roll combinations of as small as 30 cm and120 cm, respectively, have been shown to be operative in the practice ofthe present invention. It also may be desirable for the diameter of thebacking roll to be equal to the diameter of the needle roll.

EXAMPLE A machine was constructed having a needle roll 122 cm indiameter, to the surface of which were fitted felting needles which wereequilaterally triangular in crosssection, having barbs at the corners ofthe triangles, to a needle density of 15 needles per 10 sq. cm of rollface. The needles were mounted perpendicular to the roll face.Associated wire rolls were fabricated in two different diameters; one 30cm, and one 122 cm. On both of these wire rolls the roll face wascovered with card wire, the heights of the wire filaments of which wereapproximately 2.5 cm in length. In this piece of equipment, only thecard wire roll was driven by an outside source. The depth of needlepenetration was adjusted as desired by changing the center-to-centerdistance between the rolls.

The felt was positioned about the card wire roll and over a third idlerroll which was movable to facilitate taking up slack in the felt.Several felt samples were needled on this machine, using both the 122 cmand the 30 cm wire roll.

It was observed that the rotary motion of this ma chine allowedrelatively high speed needling as compared to a standard reciprocatingneedle loom. ln standard needling procedures used in the manufacture ofpapermakers felts it is typical to apply 12.8 g/sq. cm of fibers, and toperform work on felts of this type on a regularly reciprocating needleloom would require 44.5 minutes. It was found that the machine made inaccor dance with the present invention, having approximately the samenumber of penetrations per inch as in the aforesaid standardreciprocating needle loom, could be operated at approximately 274.5m/min., which completely needled the felt in approximately 7.5 minutes.Thus, at a speed of 274.5 m/min. the needling productivity isapproximately six times greater.

No particular problems were apparent at 274.5 m/min., from which it isclear that the running speed could be increased significantly. In fact,on this same machine, another run was made at 457.2 m/min.

It was noted that the product of the present invention appeared to haveseveral different characteristics over those produced on standardreciprocating needle looms. For example, one difference was in theapparent size of the holes left in the felt by penetration of theindividual needles. Although the needle holes in the felt produced onthe machine of the present invention appear slightly larger than thoseleft by reciprocating needle looms, apparently due to the changingangular path followed by the needles during penetration, it was alsonoticed that the apparent bulk density of the felts produced on themachine made in accordance with the present invention was somewhat lessthan that produced by a reciprocating needle loom. Without intending tobe bound by any theory, it appears that as needles are being pulled outof the felt, they are still under a slight degree of lateral pressure sothat the point of the needle may tend to scrape the upper layer as itclears theupper felt surface. Obviously, the degree to which this occurswill be a function of the diameters of the rolls used.

As noted above, both 122 cm and 30 cm wire rolls were used. It wasnoticed that as the diameter decreased for a given running speed, needlebending and breakage began to occur so that when the 30 cm diameter rollwas used, at a relatively high speed, the needling had to be terminatedin order to avoid serious damage to the needle roll.

Various empirical measurements were made in the course of utilizing themachine which embodied the present invention, during which it was notedthat the maximum load exerted on the rolls at their point of contactwith the felt being processed was in the neighborhood of 1.76 kg perlinear cm, and that the horsepower requirements were in the neighborhoodof 0.0187 norsepower per 30.48 m per minute 2.5 cm of face width.

Based on these experiments, it was estimated that the cost of a loomembodying the present invention would be approximately 60 percent thatof a commercially available reciprocating needle loom of the same width.

With respect to the working characteristics of the papermaking felt-typesamples produced on machines embodying the present invention, thefollowing table shows the measured vertical flow rate of such felts inliters per minute at various mechanical loadings for various feltthicknesses made both on a reciprocating needle loom and on the machineembodying the present invention.

Mechanical Felt Vertical Loading Thickness Flow Rate KG/CMZ MilimetersLiters/Minutes 17.5 1.45 55.3 Reciprocating 26.3 1.30 44.3 Loom 35.01.17 37.1 Sample 43.8 1.09 32.2 52.5 1.00 28.4

17.5 1.42 58.3 Present 26.3 1.24 46.2 lnvention 35.0 1.14 39.4 Sample43.8 1.09 34.1 52.5 1.00 29.1

It should be obvious from the foregoing discussion that even though theembodiments described above are in terms of structures having twoopposing rolls or cylinders, it is also possible to practice the presentinvention in a wide variety of other configurations in which the surfaceto which the needles are affixed and the surface to which the backingmembers are affixed travel repeatedly through closed travel paths which,in the aggregate of their constituent flat and arcuate portions, causethe needles and the members to pass through 360 during each revolution,provided that at some point along their paths of travel, at least aportion of the needles reside among the elongated members of the backingmembers. Included among them'are a needle roll in combination with anincline-decline plane carrying an endless belt of card wire as a backingmember,

or an endless belt of card wire in combination with an endless beltcarrying needles, which combination converges at some point along theirpaths of travel. Obviously, in these embodiments of the invention, thepaths of travel may not be the true circles as in the case of the needleroll and the backing roll being revolving cylinders, but instead may beelliptical or other geometrically regular or even irregular closed loopsin cross-section. It is also within the contemplation of the presentinvention to have a multiplicity of needle rolls in tandem arrayedaround around a common backing roll, whereby several combinations ofneedle types and- /or needling depths may be accommodated sequentiallyon a given fabric in a single set up.

It is to be understood that the embodiments herein illustrated anddiscussed, and the terms and expressions which have been employed, areby way of illustration and not of limitation and that there is nointention in using any of them to exclude any equivalents of thefeatures shown or described, or portions thereof, since it will berecognized by those skilled in the arts that this invention may bepracticed in a wide variety of forms and embodiments without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for needling textiles comprising a needle support memberwhich is capable of traveling along a closed travel path and has amultiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes of whichare oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member,

and a backing member which is capable of traveling along a closed travelpath and has a surface comprising pressure-tolerant, laterallydisplaceable, elongated fabric support members which are affixed at oneend to the surface of said backing member and have their long axesoriented substantially normal to the surface of said backing'member;

said closed travel paths each aggregating 360 of angular change andbeing so positioned with respect to each other that at least at onepoint along said paths, a portion at least of said needles will resideamong said elongated members.

2. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein said surface of saidbacking member comprises card wire.

3. The apparatus described in claim 1 in which at least one of saidmembers is a cylinder.

4. The apparatus described in claim 2 in which at least one of saidmembers is a cylinder.

5. The apparatus described in claim 1 in which said needle member andsaid backing member are cylinders.

6. The apparatus described in claim 5 in which said surface of saidbacking member comprises card wire.

7. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein the diameter of saidneedle-bearing cylinder is at least 122 centimeters and the diameter ofsaid backing cylinder is at least 30 centimeters.

8. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein the diameter of saidneedle-bearing cylinder is equal to the diameter of said backingcylinder.

9. The apparatus described in claim 6 wherein the diameter of saidneedle-bearing cylinder is equal to the diameter of said backingcylinder.

10. A method of needling textiles comprising the steps of moving afabric through the point of closure between a needle support memberhaving needles affixed thereto the long axes of which are orientedsubstantially normal to the surface of said support member, and abacking member having pressure tolerant, laterally displaceableelongated fabric support members affixed at one end to the surfacethereof, the long axes of which are oriented substantially normal to thesurface of said backing member, moving said members along closed travelpaths each aggregating 360 of angular change, positioning said memberswith respect to each other so that at least at one point along saidpaths, a portion at least of said needles will reside among saidmembers.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein at least one of said membersis a cylinder rotating 360 about its longitudinal axis.

12. An apparatus for needling textiles comprising a needle supportmember which is capable of traveling along a closed travel path and hasa multiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes ofwhich are oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member,

and a backing member which is capable of traveling along a closed travelpath and hasa surface comprising pressure-tolerant, laterally displaced,elongated fabric support members which are affixed at one end to thesurface of said backing member and having their long axes orientedsubstantially normal to the surface of said backing member;

said closed travel paths each aggregating 360 of angular change andbeing so positioned with respect to each other that at least at onepoint along said paths, a portion at least of said needles will resideamong said elongated members, said support member being movable relativeto said backing member to control the distance between said needle andbacking members and thereby control the depth at which said needlesreside among said elongated members.

13. The apparatus'described in claim 12 in which at least one of saidmembers is a cylinder.

14. The apparatus described in claim 13 in which said needle member andsaid backing member are cylinders.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIUN atent No-3,890,681 Dated June 24, 1975 1 Inventor(s) Eugene Zo1tan Fekete et a1It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

C01. 2, Line 19 Change "substantia11y" to "substantial". C01. 5, Line 65Change "operat1'0ns1" to "operationa1". C01. 6, Line 16 Change "need1e."to need1ed." C01. 6, Line 47 De1ete 'the". C01. 6, Line 48 Change "the"t0 "and". G C01. 7, Line 18 Add "art after pr1'or".

C01. 12, Line 18 Change "disp1aced" to "disp1aceab1e".

Signed and Scaled this Q twenty-sixth Day Of August 1975 [SEAL] Arrest:

. RUTH c. MASON c. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioneroflatents and Trademarks 'ORM PO-105O (10- USCOMM-DC 80376-1 69 lLS,GOVERNMENT PRINTlNG OFFICE: 9. 93 o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,890,681 Dated June 24, l975Inventor(s) Eugene Zoltan Fekete et al It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

Col 2 Line l9 Change "substantially" to "substantial". Col 5, Line 65Change "operationsl to "operational". Col 6 Line l6 Change "needle. to"needled. Col 6 Line 47 Delete "the". Col 6 Line 48 Change "the" to"and". Col 7, Line l8 Add "art" after "prior" Col 12, Line l8 Change"displaced" to "displaceable".

Signed and Scaled this twenty-sixth D ay Of A ugust 1 9 75 [SEAL]Arrest:

RUTH c. MASON c. MARSHALL DANN Arresting ()jfl'cer Commissionerojlarenrs and Trademarks =ORM PO-105O (10-69) uscoMM-Dc 60376-P69 U.SGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 869- 930

1. An apparatus for needling textiles comprising a needle support memberwhich is capable of traveling along a closed travel path and has amultiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes of whichare oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member, and abacking member which is capable of traveling along a closed travel pathand has a surface comprising pressuretolerant, laterally displaceable,elongated fabric support members which are affixed at one end to thesurface of said backing member and have their long axes orientedsubstantially normal to the surface of said backing member; said closedtravel paths each aggregating 360* of angular change and being sopositioned with respect to each other that at least at one point alongsaid paths, a portion at least of said needles will reside among saidelongated members.
 2. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein saidsurface of said backing member comprises card wire.
 3. The apparatusdescribed in claim 1 in which at least one of said members is acylinder.
 4. The apparatus described in claim 2 in which at least one ofsaid members is a cylinder.
 5. The apparatus described in claim 1 inwhich said needle member and said backing member are cylinders.
 6. Theapparatus described in claim 5 in which said surface of said backingmember comprises card wire.
 7. The apparatus described in claim 5wherein the diameter of said needle-bearing cylinder is at least 122centimeters and the diameter of said backing cylinder is at least 30centimeters.
 8. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein the diameterof said needle-bearing cylinder is equal to the diameter of said backingcylinder.
 9. The apparatus described in claim 6 wherein the diameter ofsaid needle-bearing cylinder is equal to the diameter of said backingcylinder.
 10. A method of needling textiles comprising the steps ofmoving a fabric through the point of closure between a needle supportmember having needles affixed thereto the long axes of which areoriented substantially normal to the surface of said support member, anda backing member having pressure tolerant, laterally displaceableelongated fabric support members affixed at one end to the surfacethereof, the long axes of which are oriented substantially normal to thesurface of said backing member, moving said members along closed travelpaths each aggregating 360* of angular change, positioning said memberswith respect to each other so that at least at one point along saidpaths, a portion at least of said needles will reside among saidmembers.
 11. A method according to claim 10 wherein at least one of saidmembers is a cylinder rotating 360* about it''s longitudinal axis. 12.An apparatus for needling textiles comprising a needle support memberwhich is capable of traveling along a closed travel path and has amultiplicity of felting needles affixed thereto, the long axes of whichare oriented substantially normal to the surface of said member, and abacking member which is capable of traveling along a closed travel pathand has a surface comprising pressure-tolerant, laterally displaced,elongated fabric support members which are affixed at one end to thesurface of said backing member and having their long axes orientedsubstantially normal to the surface of said backing member; said closedtravel paths each aggregating 360* of angular change and being sopositioned with respect to each other that at least at one point alongsaid paths, a portion at least of said needles will reside among saidelongated members, said support member being movable relative to saidbacking member to control the distance between said needLe and backingmembers and thereby control the depth at which said needles reside amongsaid elongated members.
 13. The apparatus described in claim 12 in whichat least one of said members is a cylinder.
 14. The apparatus describedin claim 13 in which said needle member and said backing member arecylinders.